


I Got So Sick of Being On My Own

by iktwabrokenbone (apiculteur)



Series: The Demons and Angels Purpose [1]
Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Fluff, M/M, do not be fooled by josh being a demon, this is shameless fluff, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 22:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2206146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apiculteur/pseuds/iktwabrokenbone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh is a demon, and Tyler summons him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Got So Sick of Being On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> oh how its been so long, im so sorry ive been gone, i was busy making a winter soldier cosplay and struggling with my procrastination
> 
> title from turn off the lights by patd
> 
> edit: there is now a translation of both parts of this story in [ру́сский](ficbook.net/readfic/4732800)!!! :)))

Josh didn't remember his entire existence. Humans didn't, either, but they tended to have some sort of idea when they had began to exist, and where. Demons didn't have that- he didn't know a single demon who knew how they had came to be. He still remembered quite a lot though, probably about four hundred years or so- younger than a lot of demons, but far older than any human.

However, in all of that time, he had never met a single human as _stupid_ and _rash_ as the man in front of him, looking panicked. The man's eyes were wide, hands shaking slightly, and when Josh looked around, he saw the crudely drawn chalk pentagram, and realised quickly that he was in a bathroom. Obviously, he had never done this before, and was _way_ out of his depth. At least he had made a circle of salt around both himself and the pentagram. Most demons would've killed him by now, otherwise.

The man in front of him made a strangled noise and squeaked. Josh smirked at him.

"You're naked," he said, looking very purposefully at Josh's face, not letting his eyes drop even to his chest.

"Yes."

"Do you wanna maybe put some clothes on?"

Josh wanted to say no, but the poor kid looked scared enough already- he couldn't be older than twenty-five- so he snapped his fingers, clothing himself in jeans and a tank top. It wasn't necessary to click his fingers, or really do anything other than stand there, but he liked to click his fingers and make a small poof of smoke, because it made him look cooler.

The man relaxed after that, smiled gratefully at him and saying, "Thanks," which was a bit confusing. Most humans didn't give much thought to manners, or the existence of feelings in demons. For some reason, most seemed convinced they were completely evil, dead inside.

"Why did you summon me?" Josh asked, wanting to change the subject only partially because of how confused the man's strange courteousness made him feel.

The man looked a bit surprised, as though he had forgotten Josh was a demon. Definitely the stupidest person Josh had ever met, demon or human. "Oh! Um, well, I don't really know," he said, shrugging. "I thought it'd be cool to... like, bind a demon to me for a while? I want really sure that demons were real..." He said the last bit quieter than the rest, averting his eyes as though scared or embarrassed.

Josh wondered whether that had sounded like a better idea in his head. Judging from the look on his face, it had.

The man cleared his throat, picking up a notebook from the floor. He spoke confidently and clearly in Latin, the words familiar to Josh after being bound to more humans than he would've liked. As the man carried on reading from the book, Josh had to almost wince, because he didn't seem to notice that he'd pronounced that word wrong. He finished reading it out, and looked up at Josh, then around the room a bit. "Did it work?" he asked. "I thought it'd be... different. Like, there would be something to show it worked."

If he had said it correctly, the only indicator that it worked would be in the form of the demon not killing them, enraged by the attempts at capture, so Josh nodded, trying to look upset and annoyed. "It worked," he said.

The man smiled, then looked guilty. "Sorry," he said. "I swear I'll let you go as quickly as possible." He seemed sincere, in an incredibly confusing way. He hoped the guy wouldn't summon any other demons, because he'd surely get killed, or at least severely maimed. "Um, I'm Tyler." Okay, definitely killed then. No one with any sense gave their name to a demon.

"I'm Josh," he said.

"Josh?" He sounded unsure. "I mean, dude, that doesn't sound like the sort of name a demon would have."

Josh felt sorry for him, and increasingly relieved that he was the demon who ended up being summoned. You would think he would at least summon _one_ very low level demon before going for one of the stronger ones. "It's not my real name."

"Oh," he said, looking far too relaxed and casual. His demeanour was more suited to hanging out with friends than his first demon summoning. "Are most demons like you? I mean, you have piercings and dyed hair, and you've changed your name. Is that a normal demon thing?"

Josh shrugged. "Not really. I think it's cool, though," he said.

He looked as though he had more questions, but just nodded, then paused. "Um. I was gonna order Taco Bell. Are you hungry?"

Josh blinked. That wasn't something a human had ever asked him before. They all assumed he didn't need food, or, like, fed on the souls of orphaned children. Which was stupid, because it would be pretty difficult to find enough orphans to have regular meals. "Yeah, actually. What's Taco Bell?"

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Tyler looked _offended_. Josh wasn't sure whether he had crossed some sort of line, if this was some human taboo, and had to force himself not to flinch. He was pretty sure Tyler wouldn't hurt him- probably _couldn't_ , didn't know the right spells- but instinct made him want to turn his face away, use his arm to shield his face.

"You don't know- well, I guess you wouldn't," Tyler said, sounding as though he was trying to reassure himself. "You gotta try it. It's, like, really cheap Mexican food?"

Josh was pretty sure that was meant to hype it up, but he didn't know what about that was supposed to make it sound good. "Okay."

"Uh, you'll have to come with me, 'cause they don't deliver," he said. Josh was going to berate him for trusting a demon to not kill him when he released it from a trap, but Tyler thought he as bound to him, couldn't hurt him, so he nodded.

Tyler looked at him expectantly, as though he was expecting Josh to follow him to the door. "Oh! Right, you're trapped. I'll just-" He kicked away the salt, used the toe of his shoe to scuff away the chalk. "C'mon. Taco Bell awaits."

***

When they got there, Tyler kept on glancing around nervously, as though people were going to suddenly turn to them and shout, "Demon!"

Of course, no one did. Josh looked perfectly human, unless you looked very closely and realised his irises were black. It would be easy enough to explain away, were anyone to notice.

Tyler seemed to realise this after a while, his shoulders more or less relaxed by the time they reached the counter. The order was placed- Josh wasn't sure what they were getting, Tyler had just ordered them both the same thing- and they moved to the side to wait for it to be ready.

He wasn't really listening, because he knew Tyler was just talking about how amazing Taco Bell was, but at some point Tyler perked up, moving to grab a tray from the counter and then leading the way to an empty table.

Tyler picked up his taco, watching Josh do the same. He noticed that Tyler hasn't eaten anything, was waiting to see Josh take his first bite. Really, it was sort of... _cute_ , in a weird way. He was an unusual human- he fed Josh, and seemed to think of him as a person, rather than an animal that needed beating into submission.

Josh took a bite, and he had honestly expected it be taste terrible- 'cheap Mexican food' didn't sound that nice- but, oh god, maybe it was just because he hasn't eaten in weeks, but it was _delicious_. He looked up at Tyler, probably with a mystified expression.

"Dude," Tyler whispered. "Did you even chew that?"

Josh glanced away from his taco for a second, just long enough to make eye contact when he said, "No."

He was more focused on his food by the time Tyler replied, but he could see him nod, in a slow, accepting way. "Okay, man."

Josh pretended not to be surprised, acted like he hadn't expected him to scream or throw salt at him. It would take time, adjusting to this new summoner. He still didn't trust him- this wouldn't be the first time a summoner had tried to gain his trust to gain knowledge about him, only to turn against him- but he couldn't help a tiny part of him believing that Tyler genuinely didn't want to hurt him.

***

Tyler apologised to him later on. "I don't have a spare room. You'll have to sleep on the couch, but I'll give you a blanket and a couple pillows. And you can take whatever from the fridge."

Josh shrugged. "Demons don't need to sleep or eat as much as humans. I won't need to sleep for at least another month."

"Oh. Well, you can watch as much TV as you want. The remote's on the table," he said, pointing to a black oblong, covered in buttons. Josh nodded, and Tyler smiled at him before disappearing upstairs.

Okay, so Josh looked modern enough with his purple hair, gauges, and skinny jeans, but he honestly had _no idea_ what he was supposed to do with the remote. Demons couldn't move between the demon and human dimensions without a human summoning and dismissing them, and none of his previous summoners had been kind enough to let him use a TV. He had a vague idea what it was- it displayed images and made sounds, was used for entertainment- but he had never watched or used a TV before.

He picked up the remote, and pressed the red button at the top, because he had enough sense to know that the red button would probably turn it on and off. It did, and the image of a blonde man flickered onto the screen, accompanied by a slightly too loud conversation about drugs. He panicked slightly, and pressed various buttons until he found one that made it quieter. The image had changed to one of space, with quiet music and another, more gentle male voice.

He couldn't be bothered to press random buttons again, so he watched the images. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, but there was some guy with a great butt and cute tummy, and a badass girl with an amazing smile and signing voice. She didn't come on too much, but the guy with the butt was almost always there, so he was happy enough.

He didn't sleep or eat at all, partially because he didn't need to, but also because he was fascinated by the TV. He had changed channel, but hadn't moved at all, by the time Tyler came downstairs.

"G'morning," Tyler mumbled, eyes only half open, and only wearing a T-shirt and boxers. He usually wasn't bothered by whatever state of undress people were in, because a lot of demons weren't a fan of clothes, but he found himself staring at Tyler's hips.

He huffed out a breath, annoyed at himself. Just because the man was attractive, and acted kind for now, didn't mean he wouldn't end up studying him later. He had been through this before, and he didn't need it to happened again. "Hey," Josh said, trying to sound as apathetic as possible.

Tyler, still half asleep, didn't notice, just smiled. "Do you want to eat? How often do demons need food, anyway?"

There it was. Slipping questions in casually, trying to find out about him before he turned it against him. "I don't need to eat right now," he said, trying to sound vague. He _didn't_ need to eat, but he did _want_ to. He wanted Taco Bell again. He wanted to always have Taco Bell.

"'Kay dude. Tell me if you need to eat," he said, walking through to the kitchen. Josh followed, only because he had just been watching advertisements for the past hour or so, and it was getting boring.

Tyler stuck his head in the fridge, took out a yellow can which he promptly dropped on the floor. "I didn't hear you come through here. Do you, like, levitate? How are you so quiet?" he asked, picking up the can.

"I just walk quietly. Not everything is because I'm a demon," he said.

Tyler still looked a little suspicious, but he didn't prod further. "Do you want some Yoohoo? It's kinda like chocolate milk, but with water instead. Chocolate water."

Josh shook his head. Again, even a demon unfamiliar with human food and drink found his descriptions questionable. He wasn't quite sure how 'chocolate water' was supposed to sound appealing.

"Your loss, man."

***

Josh had been staying with Tyler for three days now. At no point had Tyler commanded him to do anything, or asked him to do anymore than help him carry in some shopping bags, and even then it was very much a _suggestion_ , not something he had to do. Increasingly, Tyler was an enigma, and it made Josh uncomfortable. He was still largely convinced that Tyler would lash out at him any second now, and it only made him frustrated that he wasn't doing any of that.

Tyler walked up to him, smiling absently. He took in Josh's appearance, then frowned slightly. "Don't you have another change of clothes? You've been wearing those for days."

"I don't need more clothes." He didn't. He hadn't changed his outfit in months, and he was fine with that. Clothes were very much a human thing, slowly making their way into demon culture. That being said, he could see the appeal, at least to some extent.

"Well, if you wanted, we could go out and I could buy you some more," he suggested, with a kind of cautious excitement. He looked like he _wanted_ to do this.

Josh was curious, and he was pretty sure Tyler was getting tired of him watching the show with the hot guy in it- Tyler had told him what it was called, but he had been distracted by the guy on the screen taking off his shirt- so he nodded. "Sure."

Tyler looked happy that he had agreed, in a quiet 'I don't want you to know how pleased I am' kind of way. Josh just nodded slowly in response to absolutely nothing, then followed Tyler out of the door.

***

Josh wasn't sure where they were, only knew that it was a clothes shop of some description. It seemed to be separated into two sections- 'Women's' and 'Men's', two large signs suspended from the ceiling read. Josh thought it was stupid. Sure, fair enough if its designed to fit people with or without breasts, with or without dicks, but they were completely different styles and everything.

He told Tyler as much, not very sure why he felt the need to.

Tyler hummed and nodded, looking as though the human race disappointed him sometimes. "Yeah, it _is_ stupid. Don't let it stop you, though. I'll get you whatever you want," he said, giving Josh an encouraging smile.

Josh walked towards the men's section first, because he saw a cool looking tank top, and proceeded to wander between sections, picking up whatever appealed to him, occasionally noticing Tyler walking around with a few clothes in hand, too. When they bumped into each other, Tyler looked at the clothes he was carrying. "You wanna try them on, now?" he asked, and Josh nodded, unaware he was supposed to try them on. He hadn't really bought clothes before, had always been given them.

Regardless, he nodded, and Tyler started off in the direction of a sign saying 'Changing Rooms'. Josh followed.

The person at the desk looked a bit confused by their clothing choices- "Are you sure they're all for you, _Sir_?" she had asked, making sure to emphasise that they were _men_ , and they had _women's_ clothes, how shocking- but after only a little bit of repeating that, yes, they were sure, and some glares on Josh's part, they were reluctantly given a tag to use the changing rooms.

He noted that Tyler looked a bit subdued, seemingly upset by the lady. "She was an asshole," Josh said, trying to bring it up casually, because this guy was still his summoner, still couldn't be trusted, he shouldn't be comforting him. Hell, he shouldn't be here, he could leave at any time. But he was curious why he had been summoned, only to be treated like a friend, never commanded to do anything. That was all.

Tyler smiled at him, looking grateful. "Yeah, I know," he said, then seemed once again excited. "Dude, try on your clothes now."

Josh entered the small room, only separated from the rest of the room by a heavy curtain, and changed into each of the things he had collected. He saw the use of it, actually. Some of the things didn't quite fit, or he found that, whilst he liked them, he didn't like _wearing_  them. He made a pile of clothes he did want, and clothes he didn't want. He couldn't really be bothered to find the clothes in the right size- all of the ones that didn't fit were ones he didn't like quite as much.

Tyler had already finished trying on his clothes when he walked out. "Hand the clothes you don't want to the person at the counter," he said.

Tyler paid for the clothes, and brought them home. He looked pleased. "That was cool, right?" he asked, only looking slightly unsure.

"Yeah," Josh agreed, giving Tyler a bemused look.

Tyler moved his hand quickly, just to mess with his hair, but Josh flinched out of habit, and Tyler looked down at his hand, then at Josh. "Dude, you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Josh said, maybe slightly too quickly, too sharply, too defensively, and Tyler looked guilty, but still persistent.

"You flinched."

Josh didn't answer, because whether he confirmed or denied it, it would be obvious. He tried to glare, but the look on Tyler's face made him avoid his eyes instead.

"Why?" he asked, and Josh was pretty sure he wanted to put a comforting had on Josh's shoulder, but he didn't.

Josh looked Tyler in the eyes then, and he'd probably raise one eyebrow if he could. He smiled, not feeling very happy- it was _annoying_ , how he was still playing this game, acting like some sweet, innocent kid. Josh would've preferred it if he just did whatever he had summoned Josh to do, get it over with, dismiss him. "Most summoners actually know spells, including ones made to _discipline_ demons," he said.

Tyler looked disgusted, actually flinched away. "They- they hurt you?" he asked, then paused before he seemed to understand. "Wait- do you think _I'm_ going to hurt you?"

Josh gave him a look. "Are you going to tell me you're not? Because I'd rather you just make me do whatever you want to do and get it over with," he said.

Tyler shook his head, looking slightly hurt. "I'm not gonna hurt you Josh. Really. I'd never do that," he said, and Josh wished he knew some kind of spell of trust so he could know if he was telling the truth. Tyler looked slightly sheepish. "And I didn't really, uh, summon you for a purpose."

Josh tried not to let his eyes soften, tried not to believe him, but if he _was_ going to do something, he would've done it before now, surely. "Why summon me at all?"

Tyler averted his eyes, blushing ever so slightly. "Well, I guess I was kinda lonely? So I thought, why not?"

Josh paused. "You summoned a demon for- company?" he asked, and Tyler shrugged. "You're not like any summoner I've had before."

Tyler grinned, seeming to understand that Josh meant that he believed Tyler, didn't expect to be hurt anymore. "Dude, do you want Taco Bell?"

"I don't get hungry very quickly," he shrugged. Tyler nodded, and proceeded to ask him every five minutes, coming up with new, increasingly disturbing nicknames.

"Tyler, do you want to get Taco Bell?" he asked, sighing.

Tyler grinned. "If you insist," he said, grabbing his keys and running to the door before Josh could say that, no, he didn't insist, he merely gave up.

***

As promised, they did go eat together. For the first time since Josh had started living with Tyler, they had a meal out somewhere other than Taco Bell, which seemed to distress Tyler just as much as it did Josh, but Debby only smirked.

"Look, guys," she said, pretending to gasp in shock. "Cutlery! Made of _metal_. This must be some super fancy restaurant."

Tyler huffed, shoving her shoulder playfully. "Like you don't eat at Taco Bell," he said.

"I _do_ , I just also eat real food sometimes," she said, and the waiter arrived at their table a second later, so neither Tyler nor Josh could retaliate.

They ordered, and talked whilst they waited for the food to arrive. It was mainly just them discussing the movie, laughing with each other and making normal conversation, interrupted briefly by the waiter bringing their food before continuing as it had before. It wasn't until Tyler got some sauce on his face.

"Dude, you got-" Josh said, pointing at his own face, around the same area. Tyler picked up his napkin, and proceeded to wipe just about everywhere apart from the spot with the sauce. "No- here. No... Gimme that."

Tyler huffed, but let Josh take his napkin to wipe the sauce away. "There," he said.

"I would've managed," Tyler muttered, but smiled at him playfully.

When they looked back up, Debby was giving them both a _look_. "So," she said. "You two are good friends."

"We're really _just_ friends," Tyler said. Debby was smiling, and Josh felt pretty sure she had just been trying to wind up Tyler, but it was cute, so he didn't point it out. Tyler probably knew anyway, was just playing along.

***

When they got back, it wasn't quite late enough to go to sleep, but not really early enough to commit to doing anything, so they lounged around on the couch, Tyler's legs in Josh's lap. Some terrible TV show was on in the background, and Tyler was looking really intensely at him as he watched whatever was on TV.

Josh looked up from the TV screen, making eye contact with Tyler. "Hey," he said.

Tyler blinked a bit, like he was waking up from a light sleep. "Hey," he said, then hesitated, looking unsure. "Do you ever wanna go back to your home?"

"Home?" he asked. "Like, the demon realm home?"

Tyler nodded, a small, nervous movement. He didn't seem scared, just more worried he would hurt Josh. "Yeah. That's home for you, right?"

Josh shrugged. "I don't know. Not really. I mean, demons don't really have family. And I didn't really make friends, I guess."

Tyler swallowed. "So, are you just going to stay in this realm?" he asked.

"I- yeah, I would like that," he said. "Would you- would you like that?"

Tyler blushed, looked like he was trying not to grin. "I would like that, yeah."

Cautiously, Josh pulled Tyler closer to him, so he was sitting in Josh's lap. Tyler pressed their mouths together, and this wasn't something Josh had done before, and he was pretty sure he was messy and lame, but Tyler seemed happy enough.

They broke apart, but left their foreheads resting against each other. "Yeah, it'd be pretty cool if you stayed," he confirmed.

***

They were really just learning more about each other now, laying in bed with their legs tangled. "I can't believe anyone would ever hurt you," Tyler said. "I mean, I know you're not lying, but I just don't understand how your summoners could all be such horrible people."

Josh hummed. "Well, there was this one summoner who was kinda alright. I mean, not _amazing_  or anything, but I could bear him, I guess," he said.

"You're mean," Tyler huffed, then looked a bit more serious again. "If I met any of those other summoners, I'd punch them in the face."

Josh laughed. "Most of them are dead now, Ty."

Tyler pouted slightly. "I'll punch them in the afterlife."

"Sure thing. Tell 'em it's from me, too."

**Author's Note:**

> i planned most of this. as words. like written down. which meant one scene ended up not fitting in and having to be turned into a short epilouge kinda thing, but still. woah. well done me. kudos and comments would be cool.


End file.
